Phil
New member
Hello again and today we will be talking in general about capos and also reviewing the Shubb Capo.
To me, a capo is a necessity. And of all the different capos that I have used over the years, the Shubb is still the best that I have encountered; they are versatile, well-made and reliable. And frankly, they are the only capos that I will recommend other guitarists.
For the uninitiated, a capo basically allows you to shorten the length of the guitar’s neck, which allows you to change the key without having to re-tune your guitar or transposing the music by using a whole new set of chords.
This is especially handy when playing songs that were written for someone else and you need to change the key of the song to suit your vocal range. And when playing fingerstyle, the capo can add some interesting pitch variations.
Another use of a capo is to allow guitar players to harmonise alongside each other easily. Say, if my rhythm guitarist is playing in the key of E major, I can simply capo on the fourth fret and play an alternate version of the same tune in the key of C, and that adds a whole new dimension to the piece. I can put the capo on the seventh fret and play the tune with chords from the key of A and instantly I would get chiming, angelic harmonics of a pseudo-mandolin.
As you can see, a capo is indispensable.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, now we shall draw our attention back to the Shubb capo in particular.
The one I have on hand for the review is the Deluxe version, which costs around SGD 8 more than the standard version. This 8 bucks gets you a ball-bearing roller at the end of the tightening screw instead of the usual rubberised tip seen on the standards.
When one locks the capo the screw presses up against the padded lever, which in turn presses against the back of the guitar's neck. The deluxe version's roller is attached to a flexible piece of steel that sits between the screw and padded lever. The screw is used to set the height of the roller, but when you lock the capo into the position the roller moves along the length of the padded lever and wedges into place tightly and more securely.
This capo simply oozes quality. I love how it feels so substantial and sturdy, and how everything is so well-crafted and precise, and that its made with stainless steel and that the joints are all riveted. And should the rubber sleeve ever wear out on you, Shubb offers to replace it with a new one for the duration of, you guessed it; a lifetime.
Usage wise, it cannot be easier. The capo's fretting bar is held in place against the back of the neck with a lever that has a soft, rubber pad so that no metal comes into contact with the guitar itself. This lever is clamped into place with a second lever that has a screw passing through it so the capo's tightness may be adjusted depending on the thickness of the guitar's neck. To use the capo you simply lines up the rubber sleeve over the strings and closes the lowest lever into the locked position.
Some capos require that you manually apply the same amount of pressure each time in order to get acceptable results. With the Shubb, once the adjusting screw is set for your instrument, you will get the same results each time. I am a fan of consistency.
And the most important and impressive thing about the Shubb it does not cause you to go out of tune with repeated usage. Some capos will stretch the string out of tune, and this is due to them using a material that presses the strings far too hard; this bends the strings all the way over the fret, hence stretching it sharp. The effect of this problem is even more drastic on the thicker wound strings.
The Shubb, fortunately, does not have this problem. I tested it by first checking my tuning then applying the capo and various positions and re-checking the tuning, this was repeated several times and the Shubb did not alter my tuning the slightest bit.
The reason is that the Shubb uses a unique material that acts just your our fingertips, and also the closing action works just like a hand. As such, when engaged it simply bends the strings over the frets like how we would fret a note instead of violently clamping it down. The rubber pads acts just like the flesh on our fingertips while the steel rod acts like the bone within the finger that reinforces everything.
Aside from that, there is another thing that the Shubb can. And that is to use a standard model as a 'partial' capo. Of course, this ‘trick’ is only limited to excluding one or at the most two strings, but that is more than enough for my usage.
You can position the Shubb around the treble side such that it leaves out the low E, and you instantly have a Drop E tuning. You can invert the orientation and expose the B and or high E, use these further up the neck for Celtic tunings like DADGAD, or blues tunings like Open G, etc. You get the idea. The possibilities are endless and no other standard capos can achieve these. Yet. Of course, you can use a partial capo, but then a partial capo cannot serve as a regular capo.
Also, the Shubb is a lot more accommodating than other capos. In the sense that it suits necks of different thickness and wideness. It fits the standard neck profiles, in addition to that, vintage 'V' profiles or even a more pronounced deep 'C' are not a problem. I cannot say the same for other capos, which I often encounter gripping problems when using it with necks that are slightly wider or have a more pronounced profile to the neck.
So, to sum it up, the Shubb Deluxe capo is my choice, as how it is for many other guitarists out there seeing how they have sold millions upon millions of this unit. Or how people like David Gilmour, John Jorgeson, Peter Grant, Dave Hawkins, Johnny Hiland, Andy Mckee, Pete Seeger, Brian Setzer, etc are also using the Shubb.
It has all the features that I need and more, and by the looks of it, it will probably last me a lifetime or at least until I misplace it. What more can I ask for?
To me, a capo is a necessity. And of all the different capos that I have used over the years, the Shubb is still the best that I have encountered; they are versatile, well-made and reliable. And frankly, they are the only capos that I will recommend other guitarists.
For the uninitiated, a capo basically allows you to shorten the length of the guitar’s neck, which allows you to change the key without having to re-tune your guitar or transposing the music by using a whole new set of chords.
This is especially handy when playing songs that were written for someone else and you need to change the key of the song to suit your vocal range. And when playing fingerstyle, the capo can add some interesting pitch variations.
Another use of a capo is to allow guitar players to harmonise alongside each other easily. Say, if my rhythm guitarist is playing in the key of E major, I can simply capo on the fourth fret and play an alternate version of the same tune in the key of C, and that adds a whole new dimension to the piece. I can put the capo on the seventh fret and play the tune with chords from the key of A and instantly I would get chiming, angelic harmonics of a pseudo-mandolin.
As you can see, a capo is indispensable.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, now we shall draw our attention back to the Shubb capo in particular.
The one I have on hand for the review is the Deluxe version, which costs around SGD 8 more than the standard version. This 8 bucks gets you a ball-bearing roller at the end of the tightening screw instead of the usual rubberised tip seen on the standards.
When one locks the capo the screw presses up against the padded lever, which in turn presses against the back of the guitar's neck. The deluxe version's roller is attached to a flexible piece of steel that sits between the screw and padded lever. The screw is used to set the height of the roller, but when you lock the capo into the position the roller moves along the length of the padded lever and wedges into place tightly and more securely.
This capo simply oozes quality. I love how it feels so substantial and sturdy, and how everything is so well-crafted and precise, and that its made with stainless steel and that the joints are all riveted. And should the rubber sleeve ever wear out on you, Shubb offers to replace it with a new one for the duration of, you guessed it; a lifetime.
Usage wise, it cannot be easier. The capo's fretting bar is held in place against the back of the neck with a lever that has a soft, rubber pad so that no metal comes into contact with the guitar itself. This lever is clamped into place with a second lever that has a screw passing through it so the capo's tightness may be adjusted depending on the thickness of the guitar's neck. To use the capo you simply lines up the rubber sleeve over the strings and closes the lowest lever into the locked position.
Some capos require that you manually apply the same amount of pressure each time in order to get acceptable results. With the Shubb, once the adjusting screw is set for your instrument, you will get the same results each time. I am a fan of consistency.
And the most important and impressive thing about the Shubb it does not cause you to go out of tune with repeated usage. Some capos will stretch the string out of tune, and this is due to them using a material that presses the strings far too hard; this bends the strings all the way over the fret, hence stretching it sharp. The effect of this problem is even more drastic on the thicker wound strings.
The Shubb, fortunately, does not have this problem. I tested it by first checking my tuning then applying the capo and various positions and re-checking the tuning, this was repeated several times and the Shubb did not alter my tuning the slightest bit.
The reason is that the Shubb uses a unique material that acts just your our fingertips, and also the closing action works just like a hand. As such, when engaged it simply bends the strings over the frets like how we would fret a note instead of violently clamping it down. The rubber pads acts just like the flesh on our fingertips while the steel rod acts like the bone within the finger that reinforces everything.
Aside from that, there is another thing that the Shubb can. And that is to use a standard model as a 'partial' capo. Of course, this ‘trick’ is only limited to excluding one or at the most two strings, but that is more than enough for my usage.
You can position the Shubb around the treble side such that it leaves out the low E, and you instantly have a Drop E tuning. You can invert the orientation and expose the B and or high E, use these further up the neck for Celtic tunings like DADGAD, or blues tunings like Open G, etc. You get the idea. The possibilities are endless and no other standard capos can achieve these. Yet. Of course, you can use a partial capo, but then a partial capo cannot serve as a regular capo.
Also, the Shubb is a lot more accommodating than other capos. In the sense that it suits necks of different thickness and wideness. It fits the standard neck profiles, in addition to that, vintage 'V' profiles or even a more pronounced deep 'C' are not a problem. I cannot say the same for other capos, which I often encounter gripping problems when using it with necks that are slightly wider or have a more pronounced profile to the neck.
So, to sum it up, the Shubb Deluxe capo is my choice, as how it is for many other guitarists out there seeing how they have sold millions upon millions of this unit. Or how people like David Gilmour, John Jorgeson, Peter Grant, Dave Hawkins, Johnny Hiland, Andy Mckee, Pete Seeger, Brian Setzer, etc are also using the Shubb.
It has all the features that I need and more, and by the looks of it, it will probably last me a lifetime or at least until I misplace it. What more can I ask for?
the rubber dried out!!! and they arent springy and couldnt grip properly.
